1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to bookstands and bookrests for use in supporting reading material in an upright position while being placed on or attached to a table or desk.
2. Description of Prior Art
Bookstands and bookrests that have been offered to consumers rest on the worksurface of a table or desk. Such devices allow reading material to be supported in a position that provides convenient viewing of said material, thereby freeing the user's hands so that other tasks (such as writing and typing) can be performed. However, these bookstands are of limited usage on small worksurfaces such as schooldesks because the device itself occupies a substantial amount of the available workspace, which prevents full usage of the desk. Moreover, bookstands of this type cannot be secured to the worksurface, making it possible to tip the device and the reading material over.
Several recent devices, described in the art as copyholders, feature the capability of being clamped onto a table. Unfortunately, such devices aren't compact enough for use on small worksurfaces (e.g. schooldesks), are designed to hold light-weight reading material only, and generally feature a clamping mechanism that can mar the finish of a worksurface or become easily dislodged. Moreover, such devices cannot be folded compactly for easy carrying and are not designed for table-top usage.
3. Objects and Advantages
Accordingly I claim the following as my objects and advantages of my invention: to provide a support for reading material that can be quickly and securely attached onto a peripheral edge of a desk or table in order to conserve worksurface space for other uses, and to provide such a device that allows the reading material being supported to be easily positioned in either an upright or horizontal fashion. In addition I claim the following additional objects and advantages: to provide such a device that can be placed directly on top of a worksurface as an alternative to temporary attachment, and to provide such a device that can be folded flatly to allow easy transport and storage.
Readers will find further objects and advantages of this invention upon reviewing the following descriptions and drawings.